1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoe having an expandable upper that expands along the length of the shoe and an insole for the shoe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Shoes having expandable uppers typically include outsoles including a rear portion and a front portion. An elastic shoe upper connects the front and rear of the shoe and allows the shoe to expand. These shoes are expandable along a length of the foot to receive various sizes of feet. The expandability of these shoes allows for swelling of feet or allows the shoe to comfortably fit a growing child as the child""s foot size increases up to two shoe sizes.
A problem with these prior art shoes is that as the shoe expands, the front part of the outsole is separated from the heel part thereby creating a gap. The elastic shoe upper that connects the rear portion to the front portion of the outsole, while being waterproof, does not provide the same physical protection of the foot from pebbles, rocks, and other debris on the walking surface as the outsole does.
An object of the present invention is to provide an insole for a shoe with an expandable shank that protects the entire length of the wearer""s foot, especially at the area of expansion.
The object of the present invention is met by a first embodiment of an expandable shoe having a shoe upper expandable from an unexpanded position to a fully expanded position and a two part outsole with a rear outsole and a front outsole. The shoe is expandable along the length of the shoe such that a gap is created between the heel and the front outsole when the shoe is at least partially expanded. According to the present invention, the shoe further comprises and insole arranged so that the insole covers the gap created between the rear outsole and the front outsole to protect the wearer""s foot when the shoe is in an expanded state. The insole may be made of any material typically used for shoe soles such as leather, synthetic material, rubber, or plastic material. Furthermore, the insole may be connected to either the shoe upper or the outsole at either the front end or the rear end of the shoe.
For ease of assembly, it is desirable for some shoes to have a full length insole which is connected to the shoe upper at both the front end and the rear end of the shoe. To that end, a further embodiment of the present invention includes an insole with a rear insole and a front insole. The rear insole and front insole are both made of leather, synthetic material, plastic material, rubber, or other material having a rigidity suitable for protecting a bottom of a wearer""s foot. The insole according to this embodiment further comprises an expandable part connected between the rear insole and the front insole made of neoprene, elastic, or other expandable material. A front portion of the expandable part is connected to a front area of the front insole and a rear portion of the expandable part is connected to a front area of the rear insole (the front of the rear insole is typically located in the shank portion of the shoe located behind the ball of the foot).
As in the first embodiment, the inventive insole is used with a shoe having an expandable upper and a two part outsole, wherein a gap is created between the two parts of the outsole when the expandable shoe upper expands toward a fully expanded position. The rear insole is arranged so that it covers the gap created between the two parts of the outsole. Therefore, when the shoe upper expands, the rear insole protects the bottom of the wearer""s foot from objects on the ground such as pebbles, rocks, and other debris. The front insole and the rear insole overlap even when the expandable upper is in the fully expanded state. Therefore, even if the gap between the front and rear parts of the outside is located where the front and rear insoles overlap, the wearer""s foot always is protected from obstructions on the ground from the unexpanded to the fully expanded positions.
The embodiment of the insole having an expandable part allows the front insole to move forward relative to the rear insole while maintaining a connection of the front and rear insoles via the expandable part.
The expandable part may be arranged either on top of the front insole or beneath the front insole. As a further alternative, the expandable part may be arranged above or below the rear insole and connected to the rear end of the rear insole and the rear end of the front insole. Furthermore, the front insole and rear insole are not required to overlap. A space may be present between the front insole and the rear insole in the expanded state and/or the normal state. The important criteria is that the front insole or the rear insole covers the gap created between the heel and the front outsole when the expandable upper lengthens. Accordingly, the expandable part may be connected between the front end of the rear insole and the rear end of the front insole.
The object of the present invention is also met by an insole having an insole portion and a front pocket portion that slips over the front of the insole portion. Of course, the parts may be reversed so that the insole comprises a rear pocket portion that slips over the rear of the insole portion.
Existing shoes are expandable along a length of the shoe and typically comprise an expandable shank area made of neoprene or other expandable material. Accordingly, when the shoe is in at least a partially expanded state, a gap forms between the two parts of the two part outsole. The portion of the prior art shoe above the gap is exposed to physical obstructions with only the expandable shank portion for protection. However, the use of the inventive insole according to the present invention protects the wearer""s foot in the area of the gap between the two parts of the outsole.